Edward Snowden charged with 3 felonies

Federal prosecutors secretly charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden last week with three felonies in connection with recent leaks of classified information about secret U.S. surveillance programs, according to a court complaint unsealed Friday.

Snowden was charged with conveying classified information to an unauthorized party, disclosing communications intelligence information, and theft of government property.

The charges were first reported Friday evening by the Washington Post, which said the complaint against Snowden was sealed. It’s not immediately clear whether the charges were unsealed before or after the Post report.

A Justice Department official confirmed Friday evening that a complaint was filed in the case, but declined further comment on the matter.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who has called Snowden’s leaks “an act of treason,” praised the move. “I’ve always thought this was a treasonous act. Apparently so does the U.S. Department of Justice,” he said, although the complaint unsealed Friday does not include a treason charge. “I hope Hong Kong’s government will take him into custody and extradite him to the U.S.”

A U.S. law enforcement official contacted by POLITICO refused to elaborate on American efforts to have Snowden taken into custody by Hong Kong authorities, but said simply, “The U.S. and Hong Kong have excellent bilateral cooperation on law enforcement matters.”

Assuming Snowden is arrested in Hong Kong, the extradition process could take months, and the outcome is far from certain. The extradition treaty with the United States excludes “political” offenses, a phrase which usually includes crimes like espionage.

Criminal leaking charges, however, are sufficiently rare that it’s unclear how they would be treated under the treaty. The theft charge could offer a backup of sorts, if Hong Kong authorities balk at extraditing Snowden on charges relating to disclosure of classified information.

Only the single cover page of the complaint was unsealed Friday. Based on filings in other cases, it appeared to indicate a single count filed against Snowden on each charge. However, the underlying affidavit which would provide more details on the charges was not released.

Normally, prosecutors would be free to recraft and expand the charges when seeking an indictment from a grand jury — something that’s expected to happen in the coming weeks. However, when extradition is sought, the prosecution sometimes has less latitude to reframe the charges or add new ones once the extradition process is underway.